Victim of Love
by ForeverSmiles
Summary: Ashley moves with her sister and mom to Mystic Falls, where she meets the mysterious Damon Salvatore. I suck at summaries, but it's good, I promise. Damon/OC
1. Moving to Mystic Falls

I peered out into the little town that I would be staying in for the rest of my life from the passenger seat in the car. The light from the sun blinded me, making me cover my eyes.

"So what do you think, Ashley?" my mom asked me. I just gave her a disapproving look.

"Oh c'mon, Ashley, give it a chance!" Mom said. "Look at that. A small little town to give you a brand new start." I groaned.

"Don't get started on that again!"

"Aw, why not?" my 12-year-old sister Isabel said from the backseat. "It's fun to talk about Ashley's mistakes. Or maybe _mistakes_ isn't a strong enough word. How about catastrophe? Disaster?"

"Shut up dweeb!" I yelled. I have to admit "dweeb" is a pretty weak word for a 17-year-old to say, but I still get in trouble when I swear in front of my mom.

"Alright, you two. Don't get me started already. There! Look thats our house! Isn't it cute?" I rolled my eyes.

"Just dandy." Isabel and I took our suitcases out of the trunk and ran upstairs to claim the biggest room. I got there first (of course) but Mom made me give the biggest room to Isabel (of course). Isabel was her favorite. Isabel was everyone's favorite.

I unpacked my stuff and sat on the ledge by the window to look out at what the street was doing. My mom and Isabel were outside with the Mover's truck when I saw my worst nightmare: neighbors.

Great. Now I would have to meet every fucking person on this whole street and have to deal with all the awkwardness. Mom shook hands with the mom or guardian or whatever, and she obviously saw me at the window because she yelled:

"Ashley! Come down here and meet the neighbors!" I groaned and stomped downstairs.

"Ashley, this is Elena Gilbert, and her brother, Jeremy. This is their Aunt Jenna." I smiled.

"Hi, everyone." Jeremy was kinda cute. Maybe this wouldn't be so bad after all.

"Hey, I'm Elena. I'm your next door neighbor."

"Good. I'm glad to see someone my age on this street. Seventeen, right?"

"Yeah. Hey, are you going to Robert E. Lee high school?"

"Yeah. How'd you know?"

"That's where I go!"

"Cool. At least I'll have someone to hang out with."

"I dunno..." she lowered her voice. "I don't know if you don't want to get mixed up with me and my friends."

"Oh, please. At my old home, I crashed my mom's car AND burned our house down. What could be worse than that?"


	2. Damon's So Hot

I stared at Elena. There was something she wasn't telling me.

"Just...you don't want to get mixed up with me."

"Oh really? Because I probably do." I said. "And please, I need some friends. I don't know what you think you're protecting me from but believe me I'm far worse off going into that high school alone." Elena just sighed and led me up to her room where we talked and watched TV. I guess I convinced her.

"So," I said after a while. "What is it that was so bad about you and your friends?"

"It's...I can't tell you. I'm sorry. You can still hang out with me at school but...that's all. You can't-I won't let you have this life too." I just stared at her but she turned her attention back to the TV.

**THE FIRST DAY OF SCHOOL  
><strong>  
>I walked through the front doors of Robert E. Lee High School with Elena and robotically followed her to her friend's locker.<p>

"Bonnie, this is Ashley my new neighbor. Ashley, this is Bonnie."

"Hey," I said.

"Hi! Are you going to be hanging out with us?"

"Yeah I guess but there's some dastardly secret that Elena is refusing to tell me," I said jokingly, trying to ease the tension, but I only seemed to stress the two of them out more. Crap. 

It was 2 weeks later and Bonnie, Elena, and I were all having a sleepover at Elena's house. We had all gotten (kinda) close even though Elena and Bonnie had refused to tell me their secret.

There was a knock on the door.

"I wonder who that might be." I said and answered the door, Elena and Bonnie following me. Standing in the doorway were two extremely _hot_ older guys, probably college boys. But what were they doing here?

"Stefan." Elena said to the less hot guy (lol).

I turned to look at her. "Do you know them?"

"Yes," she said. "this is Stefan, my boyfriend. And his brother, Damon." I stared at Damon as he and Stefan walked in. Damon was so hot that he made Jeremy look like a leper. And I wanted him.


	3. Finding Out About Vampires

I gawked at the two gorgeous boys that just strolled into Elena's room.

"What's up?" Elena asked. "What are you guys doing here?"

"There is something we have to talk to you about," Damon said and the four of them went into another room. Damon glanced at me on his way to Elena's room.

As quietly as I could, I followed the four of them up to the room, and pressed my ear to the shut door.

"A new vampire hunter is in town." Stefan said. "Damon and I could be in serious danger, as could you if you continue to associate with us."

"Oh please!" Damon cried. "We won't be in any danger, neither will Elena or Bonnie. This hunter is very over-exaggerated. We can take him."

"No, Damon!" Stefan snapped. "This is serious. This hunter...he's more experienced than most. And he has the help of a vampire. This could be _very_ dangerous. We may have to leave town."

"I don't know about you, but _I'm_ not going _anywhere_." Damon smirked.

"Whoa, whoa, whoa," Elena said. "You guys have to leave town? Why? Do you seriously think that this vampire hunter will be a threat?" There was silence. "Well, Stefan, he won't go after you if he knows that you only feed on animal blood. But..."

"Thanks for not singling anyone out," Damon said, sarcastically.

"Well, I'm sorry, but its true!" Elena cried. "It's not fair that Stefan has to pay for all the bad things you've done-all the people you've killed! He shouldn't have to _die_ for it!"

I turned and ran back downstairs where I sat on the couch and thought about what I just heard. Killing people? Death? Vampire hunters? _Vampires?_ What the _hell_ was going on?


	4. Pursuing Damon

Damon and Stefan came downstairs moments later with Bonnie and Elena. The two boys left and Elena and Bonnie sat down next to me as if it never happened.

"What happened up there?" I asked. "And I was listening at the door, so don't you dare lie to me. What were they talking about?" Elena sighed and she and Bonnie explained everything to me. About Katherine, virvane, vampires, everything.

By the time they were done, my jaw had hit the floor. "They're _vampires?_ Vampires are real? Damon is a vampire? I feel like I'm in one of those cheesy vampire love story books." Elena's eyes widened.

"Oh no, Ashley you can't! You can't go anywhere near Damon! He's dangerous and he can hurt you!" I rolled my eyes.

"I'll be fine. And besides, I like dangerous."

"Ashley you can't! Damon will _kill_ you. He doesn't care about anyone but himself. He doesn't love anyone but himself." I just smirked.

"Yeah, okay. I won't go _anywhere_ near him," I said, sarcastically.

"Ashley, I mean it!" Bonnie yelled. "Damon's a killer and he'll kill you, too if you go anywhere near him!"

"Okay, whatever."

"Ashley!" they both practically screamed.

"Okay, okay, I'll stay away from Damon," I said. Translation: Okay, okay, I'll go seek out Damon behind your overprotective backs.

And I sure as hell was going to do it because I wanted Damon. And Ashley Carter ALWAYS gets what she wants.


	5. Following Damon

The next day at school, Damon showed up during our last period. He came to talk to Stefan and Elena. I was sitting next to the both of them, so I heard the whole thing.

"Uhh..." Damon said, nodding towards me.

"She knows," Stefan said. "What did you have to say?"

"Don't ask me how I know, but this hunter...whatever his name is-"

"Orion," Stefan corrected his brother.

"Whatever. Orion has a few more vampire colleagues than we thought." Elena's jaw dropped.

"How many is a few?"

"Five or six..."

"Five or six, which is it, Damon?" Stefan asked.

"Six. Two alone almost took me down. I might have been wrong...this Orion guy _could_ be a threat."

"What did I tell you?" Stefan said. "How could you be so foolish? Now Orion knows that we're aware of him!"

"Oh, relax. We'll be fine. There's two of us-"

"Yes, and six of them!" Stefan yelled.

"Is everything alright over there, Mr. Salvatore, Ms. Gilbert, Ms. Carter?" our teacher asked.

"Yes," we said at the same time. Damon had used his Powers on her to let him stay.

The bell rang and interrupted our conversation.

"We'll finish this later," Stefan growled as everyone left the room to go home. I lagged behind and took a good look at Damon. He was staring at me.

Suddenly I felt sort of like an electric shock throughout my entire body and I could hear Damon's voice inside my head.

_What is with this girl? She has some kind of energy radiating throug her. What is she, a witch? Vampire? Psychic? She's hard to read. She should be fun to explore.___

I felt the electric shock again and Damon's voice was gone. I blinked a few times and stood there like an idiot, just staring at Damon. He smirked at me. Then he walked to the window, opened it, and jumped out.

I knew what I had to do. I put my stuff on the Lost and Found table-I would pick it up tomorrow-and ran out the front door of the building. I saw Damon disappear into the forest and I ran after him.

The forest was dark and scary, even when it was daylight. The trees up above blocked any light from shining through. All I knew was I had to follow Damon. I had to know him.

Soon I was wandering blindly through the dark forest with nothing to guide me but my killer instincts telling me to go this way and that.

Suddenly, I was flying back and my back hit a tree. I heard something crack but I felt no pain so I'm guessing it was the tree. Damon was pressing me against the tree, his face close to mine.

"Why are you following me?"


	6. Psychic

"I'm not scared of you," I said. I don't know where this sudden courage came from, but I really _wasn't_ scared of Damon.

"Well, you should be. I could kill you right now."

"Well, I'm not. And no you won't."

He raised an eyebrow. "Oh really?"

"Yeah. You would have done it already. Plus you think I might be fun to explore." He backed away from the tree, and let me have a little breathing room.

"How did you-oh, so you're a psychic then?"

"A psychic? What's that?" Damon just laughed and shook his head.

"Never mind."

"Well then," I said. "I'm right here. Explore me." I spread my arms out wide. He just smiled at me.

"Maybe later." Then he disappeared into the forest.

"Crap." I muttered.


	7. Damsel in Distress

_**Sorry about the recent chapters being so short, but it'll be worth it, I promise.**_

_**Love, Rachel**_

After Damon left-being the fool that I am-I decided to try to follow him through the dark, dangerous woods. Branches scratched up my face and arms and I had twigs and leaves in my hair. I looked a mess.

I heard fluttering and I looked up and saw a crow resting on a branch in a tree directly above me. While I was staring at it, I tripped over a tree root and went sprawling to the ground. I moaned and rubbed my head.

Someone grabbed my wrist and lifted me up in the air by it.

"You just do not stop, do you?" Damon asked. I smirked.

"Another thing we have in common." He smiled.

"What are you doing here? Were you following me?"

"Well how could I not? You left me, a damsel in distress all alone in the dark woods. I could have been killed and it would have been all. Your. Fault. That means no exploring for Damon. Now why don't you take me back to your place and explain to me what a psychic is?"


	8. Some Dark, Twisted Fairytale

Damon smirked. "Fine." Then he slung me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes and ran. He ran with his super speed vampire powers. Everything flew by my eyes, and by the time Damon stopped, my stomach was doing somersaults.

"Ughhh..." I moaned, and he quickly set me down.

"Are you okay?"

"No!" I doubled over on my stomach and vomited all over the front lawn of the boarding house.

"Aww, I'm gonna have to clean that up!" Damon complained.

"No, you won't," I gasped after wiping my mouth.

"Oh yeah," He smirked. "I don't have to do anything I don't want to." I sighed and looked up at me.

"That's one of the reasons I like you so much, that's one of the reasons I'm so jealous of you. You can do whatever you want, go wherever you want, and you don't have to do anything you don't want to. I wish I could be like that."

"You can. If you just-" I started to get up.

"Uh-uh, mister. I'm not gonna let you turn me just for your amusement. I'm going to let you turn me AFTER you fall madly in love with me, and want to turn me so that the two of us can live together forever in some dark, twisted fairytale."

"Oh so I am going to fall madly in love with you?" Damon asked, smirking and raising an eyebrow.

"Most definitely."


	9. Visions

"Don't get too cocky, kid. It can ruin you." Damon replied and I glared at him.

"I'm not a kid. I'm 17. And I can be as cocky as I want. Now are you going to teach me about psychics or what?"

"Be patient. We'll get to that in time."

"Well, what do you have planned before that?" he smirked.

"Dinner." I rolled my eyes.

"Honestly, can't you go an hour without eating? It can't take _that_ long to teach me about psychics, can it?"

"You'd be surprised."

I groaned. "Fine, go." And then he was gone. I was left waiting outside the boarding house, and it was starting to get cold.

"Damn...I forgot to tell him to let me inside first." It was just like me to forget something like that. I shivered and rubbed my arms, trying to warm myself up.

He was back in about five minutes.

"That has to be record time," I said, smirking.

"I usually take my time eating." That was all he said until he let me in the boarding house.

"So where do we go?" I asked, but he said nothing and I just followed him up the stairs. He led me to a room with a cot pushed off to the side of the wall, near a closed window. The room was scattered with candles and flowers, and sweet aromas.

I stepped into the room, and immediately covered my nose.

"UGH! What is that _smell?_" I yelled, and Damon smiled.

"Virvain (sp?). It has some nasty effects on vampires, but even worse effects on psychics."

"And you brought me here because...?" My head felt clogged and I was beginning to lose my focus (and my balance).

"To show you what it means to be a psychic." That was the last thing I heard before I blacked out.

_Damon and I were in bed together. I wa laying on his chest, drifting in and out of sleep.___

_"I love you..." he said and I smiled.___

_"I love you, too," I replied. I felt so safe, like I didn't have to worry about anything ever again. And I also felt connected to everything, I could feel everything, hear everything, see everything. I could read the minds of people halfway around the world and taking a peek at my future was just a trigger away. I loved being a psychic, but psychics didn't live forever, not like vampires.___

_"Damon..."___

_"Hmm?"___

_"Turn me. Now. I don't care what Stefan says, or anyone else. Do it now."___

_"Are you ready?"___

_"As I'll ever be." He leaned down and sunk his fangs into my neck.___

The vision changed.

_I was surrounded by darkness. I couldn't see anything, and it made no difference if my eyes were open or not. I was walking backwards, my heart pounding in my chest. I was terrified; I didn't know where I was, but I knew it wasn't good.___

_I tripped over something, and fell on my butt. I heard scuttling in the darkness, and began to push myself backwards. The noises stopped and I stopped moving to listen. But then I felt a hand over my mouth, stifling my screams.___

I woke up from my trance-dream thing, covered in sweat. My breathing was heavy, and my heart was pounding.

"Ashley? Are you okay?" Damon asked, worriedly. I sat up and wiped the sweat off my forehead.

"I...I don't know."

"What did you see?"


	10. Dreams Come True

I sat on the bed, in the room with Damon, my eyes wide, and panting like a dog.

"Ashley, what did you see?" he cried, and I just shook my head.

"N-nothing."

"Tell me." He grabbed my shoulders, and I stared into his eyes. "TELL me."

"What the fuck are you doing?" I yelled, and shook him off me.

"Oh yeah, you're a psychic. Damn."

"I think I need to go home now." I got up and ran out the door.

"Ashley, wait!" But he didn't come after me. 

_I was staring out the window in my room. There was a crow-the same crow I saw in the woods before Damon came-sitting on a branch of a tree next to my window. I was just sitting there, staring at it and it was staring back at me. I knew something about that bird, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it...__  
><em>_I reached out my hand, and it landed gently on my wrist. I carefully brought it into my room, and it flew off my arm and onto my bed, and in midflight it transformed into a human being, and I saw Damon smirking up at me, laying on my bed.___

I woke up with a start. I looke over at my alarm clock, and it read: 5:36. I groaned, and sunk back into my pillow. I stared up at the ceiling, and rubbed all the sweat off my forehead.

"Shit, Ashley, why are you so freaked out? It was just a dream," I muttered. _But what about what Damon said about psychics? About having visions? _I thought, but then shuddered and pushed the thought into the back of my mind.

Click Click Click. My head whipped to my window, and I saw the crow tapping its beak against my window. My heart raced, and I slowly walked over to the window. I opened it.

I was staring out the window in my room. There was a crow-the same crow I saw in the woods before Damon came-sitting on a branch of a tree next to my window. I was just sitting there, staring at it, and it was just staring back at me. I knew something about that bird, but I couldn't quite put my finger on it...  
>I reached out my hand, and it landed gently on my wrist. I carefully brought it into my room, and it flew off of my arm and onto my bed, and in midflight, it transformed into a human being, andI saw Damon smirking up at me, laying on my bed.<p>

I gasped. My dream. "Holy shit..." I muttered.


	11. Kissing

I stared at Damon with wide eyes. "What-? How-?" I slapped my hand to my forehead, and groaned. "I'm so confused."

He laughed, and I frowned. "Stop laughing at me!" He didn't listen. Big surprise there, right?

I sat down on the end of my bed. "What are you doing here?"

"Aren't you happy to see me?" I shrugged, and this time, he frowned. "I feel so unloved," he joked.

I shrugged again. "Well, what did you want me to say?" He shrugged, too.

"So, are you going to tell me why you're here?"

"Are you going to tell me what you saw?" I sighed.

"Fine. There were 2 visions. First, it was me and you, and we were..." I did air quotes, and it took him a minute to get it. Then he smirked. At least he didn't look disgusted. That was a good sign...right? "Then...I was someplace dark...and I was in danger, and I tripped and hurt my ankle. Then some guy came up behind me and then...that it's."

"Oh. Are you sure?"

"You think I would forget?" I asked, sarcastically.

"No, it's just..."

"I wouldn't lie to you, either. The guy who grabbed me probably worked for Orion. Right?" Damon nodded.

"You're smart," he said.

"Yeah, not really." He smiled. "So why are you here?"

"To find out what you saw." I rolled my eyes, and tried to hide a smile. It didn't work.

"I should've known." Silence. "Well, this conversation is going nowhere." He nodded in agreement. Then Damon got off his side, and sat next to me.

"So, how are things with this Orion guy goi-" I started, but I was cut off by his mouth on mine.


	12. Douchebag

_**Okay, I sw**__**ear it's just a coincidence that Ashley's sisters name is Isabel…I came up with her name before Isabel even came into the show and I picked that name cuz that's the name of my cousin's best friend. So it doesn't have anything to do with Elena's vampire mother.**_

_**Love, Rachel**_

He leaned back, and I blinked a few times.

"What-? What was that for?" He shrugged, and got up off the bed. "Well-" I started, but he cut me off (again).

"I should get going. If you need something just holler."

"What are you talking about?"

"You're a Psychic, so you can call out to me through your mind." He looked back at me and shot me a smile. "Pretty cool stuff, right?" Then-before I could say anything else-he transformed into a crow, and flew out of the room.

At that instant, my sister, Isabel (OK Iswear its just a coincidence that ashleys sisters name is isabel...i came up with her name b4 isabel even came into the show and i picked that name cuz thats the name of my cuzins best friend...so yeahh) threw open my door, and stood there.

"Geez, you ever heard of knocking?" I snapped, but she just rolled her eyes, and continued:

"Who was in here before?"

"What are you talking about? No one."

"I heard you talking to someone."

"I was on the phone with Elena," I lied. "You gotta problem with that?"

"It was a guy's voice." I rolled my eyes.

"Whatever. And what were you doing listening at my door? Now get lost." I threw a pillow at her, and she disappeared from the doorway. Then I just sat there and frowned.

What the hell? How could Damon just kiss me and then casually leave and act like it was nothing? That douchebag!


	13. The Story of Katherine

I skipped school that day and marched right over to the boarding house to kick some Damon ass. I still couldn't believe that he could be so inconsiderate as to just kiss me and leave. What a...

UGH!

I pounded on the door, and stood, fuming, on the porch. Damon answered.

"Ooh, why so angry?" he asked, smirking.

"We need to talk," I snapped.

"What about?"

"This morning." A smile crept onto his face. "Why did you kiss me and take off?"

"What?"

"Did I stutter? WHY DID YOU KISS ME AND LEAVE? Only a complete douchebag would do something like that."

"Your sister was coming."

"Yeah, but-wait, you could hear that?" He nodded.

"And I was gonna take things slow, but…"

"Take things slow? What are you talking about? You make it sound like we're dating." I glanced at him. "Wait..._are_ we dating?"

Damon shrugged. "Do you want us to be?" I frowned, and studied him.

"Wha-? If you wanted to date me in the first place, why didn't you just say so?" he shrugged again.

"I dunno...I knew there was something about you, but I've never felt this way before Katherine..." Damon trailed off.

"Katherine? Who's Katherine?" I asked, and Damon wore an expression that completely said 'Crap, I forgot to tell her about Katherine'. "Damon? Who's Katherine."

"It's a long story."

"I got time."

"Come inside."


	14. Pretty Cool, I Guess

Damon told me all about Katherine, from the beginning to the end. He talked kinda' fast, like he was eager to get the story over with, like he didn't want to reminisce.

It took like, 30 minutes to tell, but I didn't mind. It was kind of fascinating. Stefan and him competing for Katherine's love was like a romance novel. A sappy, _vampire _romance novel, but still…and how he and Stefan got turned was like, whoa..

I felt like a little girl again sitting in front of my grandpa, in his rocking chair, with a bowl of popcorn while he told me war stories.

When Damon finished, he didn't even look at me, he just got up to get a bottle of champagne and two glasses.

"You want some?" he asked, holding out a glass.

"Sure," I said, and took it.

"Wait, how old are you? Oops, I don't care." I laughed, and took a sip from the glass.

"So what are we going to do? Get drunk, and then I watch you mope over Katherine? Goodie."

"No…well, except for the getting drunk part. And why waste a good time?"

"I agree." We tapped our glasses together and then drank some of the shampagne (sp?).

It was a few drinks later, and things were getting hazy. All I knew was that I was drunk, and I was making out with Damon on the couch. I heard a door slam, then footsteps, then yelling.

"Damon!" I looked up and saw Stefan and Elena standing there. Elena looked worried, but Stefan was furious.

Stefan tackles Damon to the ground, and Elena dragged me out the door.

"Elena!" I whined. "What are you doing?"

"I warned you about him, Ashley! Damon is bad news! He's just using you!" I rolled my eyes, and yanked my arm free of her grip.

-The Next Morning-

_I was laying on my bed, trying to force off a massive hangover (it was Saturday..i think?) when I heard a tap on my window.I looked up and saw a crow sitting on the branch, pecking on my window._

_I smirked, got up, and opened the window. The crow flew onto the bed, and turned into Damon._

_He shot me a smile, and asked, "Have you been expecting me?"_

I opened my eyes and blinked and looked around. No crow. No Damon. But I _did _have a massive hangover.I groaned and went downstairs to get a frozen package of vegetables and came back upstairs and put them on my forehead.

I was laying on my bed, trying to force off a massive hangover (it was Saturday..i think?) when I heard a tap on my window.I looked up and saw a crow sitting on the branch, pecking on my window.

I smirked, got up, and opened the window. The crow flew onto the bed, and turned into Damon.

He shot me a smile, and asked, "Have you been expecting me?"

I smiled back. "Actually yes. I saw that this would happen." He looked interested.

"Oh yeah? When?"

"Like, five seconds ago. I saw it, then I went to go get this," I tossed the frozen package of vegetables onto my nightstand. "then I came back upstairs and it happened."

"Oh," was what my ears heard him say, but my mind heard him say: _"She hasn't been able to see that far into the future yet."_

"I have, too! I saw me being like, kidnapped or something, and I saw us doing it! That was like a week ago-"

"It was three days!"

"-whatever. And that hasn't happened yet, so ha!"

"Yeah, but you were in the room with all the vervaine and stuff."

"Oh yeah."

"So, you saw us.. "doing it"?"

"Yeah, and it was in a bed at your house, so it's not gonna happen now. And especially since we just started dating. Or are we dating? What are we even doing?"

"I'm not sure. Usually when I meet a girl I just…"

"Do it with her and then eat her? Or just eat her?" I guessed.

"Well…yeah. But since you're a psychic, and there's this Orion guy, I figured I would keep you around. And you're pretty cool, I guess."

"Yeah, I know I am," I smirked, and he laughed at me.


	15. Annoyed

Elena is just unavoidable. The next day I spent the whole day trying to keep my distance from her, but she found me and lectured me anyway.

She went on and on about how she knows Damon, and about how he's only using me and that she couldn't believe that I was falling for his act. I knew it was better to just stay quiet, so the entire time she talked, I just spaced out and thought about last night.

Damon slept in my room last night, and we talked for a while, about him being a vampire, and that Orion guy, and about how Damon thought I was special, that he had never met another girl like me.

Last night was really something, and I was still tingling from the excitement.

"Ashley! Are you listening to me?"

"No," I replied, honestly, and Elena groaned.

"Ashley, this is important! I know you don't want to hear this, but-"

"You're right, I _don't _want to hear this! So, please, stop talking." Then, I stormed off. I heard Elena yelling my name, but I didn't turn around.

Later that night, my little sister, Isabel was pestering me.

"Isabel!" I moaned. "_Shut_ up!"

"Fine. I just want to know who you were talking to last night." I froze.

"What?"


	16. Nosy Little Sister

"I heard you talking to someone in your room last night. Was there a boy in there?" Isabel asked, and my mind raced, trying to come up with an answer.

"Um, no, of course not. How would he even get in? My room is on the second story, just like yours. Don't be stupid, Isabel." I was lying, and she could tell. She stared.

"Yeah, but there's a tree outside your window, dumbass. I'm not an idiot."

"Listen, Isabel, I don't have to explain myself to you. You're 12, for crying out loud! And there's such thing as talking to someone on the _phone. _Ever think about that? Yeah, I didn't think so." I got up and left the room.

"Fine. But I'll be around," I heard her around, and I clenched my fists, my anger boiling up and up..

Sometimes she made me want to hurt her.

That night, Damon came in my room again, and I put a finger to my lips. "Shh! My sister's being extra snoopy."

"I really don't think that will be a problem for me. Vampire, remember?"

I giggled. "Oh yeah. So, I've been wondering. Since I'm a psychic or whatever, am I useful in trying to take out Orion and his army of vamps?"

"Extremely."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Come to the boarding house tomorrow afternoon. It'll be Stefan and Elena and that with girl Bonnie. They're all trying to come up with some sort of game plan or something."

"Cool! Sounds awesome."


	17. Psychic Powers

I drove up to the Salvatore Boarding House in my mom's car, andDamon met up with me on the porch.

"Hey," he said, grinning and I smiled.

"Hey. Where's everyone?"

"In the backyard. Follow me." Damon led me around the boarding house to the back, where I saw Stefan and Bonnie practicing their powers, and Elena was watching with wide eyes.

"Hey guys," I said, and they all looked up.

"Damon! What is she doing here?" Stefan cried, running up to us in his vampire super-speed thingy.

"Ooh, let me take this one," I said. "I'm here to help. Damon says I'm a psychic or something."

"A_ psychic?_" Stefan and Bonnie yelled, but Elena just looked confused.

"What's a psychic?" she asked.

"Yeah, I agree with Elena," I said. "What am I?"

Bonnie walked up to us, followed by Elena. "Psychics are sort of like a spin-off from witches, except more powerful by far. They can read minds, see into the future, move things with their minds, and many other things," Bonnie explained.

"Whoa!" I cried. "I can move things with my mind?"

"Yes," Stefan said. "What have you practiced already?"

"Um…I've read minds and seen into the future. What other cool stuff can I do?"

"Let's find out." Damon said.

Damon and Stefan set up a laundry line, and placed empty soda cans every couple of feet on them. Then they told me to stand about 20 feet away from it.

"Oh, come on, you guys! How am I supposed to do this?" I moaned.

"Just try." Damon said. I frowned, and focused on the cans.

_Cans…fall down. _That didn't work. I glared at the cans and tried to will them to fall, but that didn't work, either. I looked back at Damon and he was frowning at me.

_Crap! He probably thinks I'm a total loser. Or that I was just faking. _I turned back around to face the cans. _Come on, Ashley! You can do this. If you don't, Damon won't want to keep you around anymore! _I glared and clenched my fists, and something snapped. I looked up and saw that the laundry line had snapped, and all the cans had come crashing down.

"Whoa.. what happened?" I yelled.

"You did it, Ashley!" Bonnie cried, excitedly. "You snapped the line with your mind and knocked down all the cans!"

"REALLY?"

Stefan, Bonnie, Damon, and I spent the entire day exercising our powers. Right now I was laying on my bed, drifting into sleep when I heard a tap on my window.

Drowsily, I looked over at the window and used my mind to open it. The crow flew in and turned into Damon. He was smiling at me.

"Nice. You've gotten better." I sat up and smiled when he sat on my bed.

"Yeah! I can move things, read minds, and tap into the past anytime I want now! I feel like I'm getting so much stronger, I can feel the juices flowing through me.. _it's so cool!_" Damon laughed.

"Yeah, well, I have to go. You need your rest, because we need you to come back again tomorrow. You could be really helpful with Orion."

"Really? Cool! And okay."


	18. Attacked

Life is so cool. I feel like I'm part of a movie. None of this seems real, even after a week of training with the Salvatore's. Bonnie has been helping me with moving things with my mind, seeing in the future, and reading minds. I can pretty much do it anytime I want now! I'm like a Human Lie Detector. Haha.

So, anyway, I was using my mom's car again [hey, I wonder if I can fly! I'll ask] and I was driving to the Salvatore's Boarding House.

_Dammit, it's getting dark, I hope I get there soon. Fuck, can't this piece of shit go any faster? _I thought and gently pushed down on the accelerator and the tires spurred as they sped across the gravel. I had never really liked the dark..

The headlights for the car lit up a few feet in front of me, and I squinted into the dark. Suddenly there was a figure directly in front of me, but by the time I saw it, it was too late. I slammed on the brakes, but the figure slammed onto the hood, and flew up above the car, and I heard a thud behind me.

I screamed, and the car came to a stop. "Oh My God!" I screamed as I opened the car door and ran back behind the car to make sure the person was OK. I used my Power to send out a message to Damon: _Shit! I just fucking hit someone with my FUCKING car!_

Then I knelt down next to the person, who wasn't moving. I didn't know what else to do, so I triggered it's thoughts: _Just lie still…wait until she gets a little closer.._

_Huh? _I thought, but then the person whipped around and grabbed me, pulling me towards him. He bit into my neck, and covered my mouth with his hand to muffle my screams.


	19. Bitten

I was surrounded by darkness. I couldn't see anything, and it made no difference if my eyes were open or not. I was walking backwards, my heart pounding in my chest. I was terrified; I didn't know where I was, but I knew it wasn't good.

I tripped over something, and fell on my butt. I heard scuttling in the darkness, and began to push myself backwards. The noises stopped and I stopped moving to listen. But then I felt a hand over my mouth, stifling my screams.

I remembered this…there was something vaguely (sp?) familiar about this scene, like deja` vu, sort of…like I had done this before.

_Of course! This is one of the visions I had when I was training with Damon! _I felt relieved that it actually came true, but scared because, well, it came true! I just got _kidnapped!_

"Shh…" the man whispered, and my eyes widened. "Don't make any noise. It won't make any difference, though. We're in the middle of nowhere. No one will hear you." The man removed his hand from my mouth, and it took every fiber in my being not to scream.

"Are you Orion?" I whispered, and he laughed.

"No…my name is Garhleth, and I'm a part of his ever-growing vampire army. And…I've never tasted the blood of a psychic before…" he murmured, and brushed his lips against my neck. Tears slid down my face and Garhleth bit into my neck, and used his hand to cover my mouth again, while I screamed.

I woke up in darkness, and my head and neck hurt like hell. I moaned.

"What happened?" No one answered, but suddenly all of the memories came rushing back to me, and fear spread through me.

I sent Damon another message using my Power, hoping that he would get it: _Damon, one of Orion's vampires kidnapped me…his name was…I don't remember...and…I think he bit me. He said something about me being in the middle of nowhere? And it's dark.._

I felt like I wasn't giving him enough information, but that was all I knew, so I just laid back and waited for a response.


	20. Snapped Her Neck

Everything was pitch black, and I didn't know how long I had been in this craphole. I tried calling to Damon (even to Stefan and Bonnie) numerous times, but it was getting harder and harder every time. I could feel my life essence slipping away as seven vampires fed on me at one time. Orion warned them to keep me alive-but I had psychic blood, and they just couldn't help themselves.

A door slammed open, and light flooded into the room. "WHAT DID I TELL YOU?" Orion screamed, grabbing vampires and throwing them across the room. "You're supposed to keep her ALIVE! Otherwise, this was all just a waste of time!"

There were murmured "sorry"s, and Orion groaned, and stomped out of the room.

Light flooded into the room again, and there was screaming and fighting, and I just figured Orion came back to teach those vampires a lesson, and my fear struck up a mile when someone lifted me into their arms.

I'm going to die. I'm GOING TO DIE was the only thing that was going through my mind.

"Ashley? Ashley, are you alive?" the face and voice sounded very familiar. I moaned, softly and suddenly everything spun, and my breath was taken away from me, and I had trouble getting it back.

Someone laid me on a couch, and my blurry vision slowly came into focus. "Damon?" I murmured, trying to figure out which of the 3 Damon's that I was seeing was the real one.

I could practically feel the time I had left ticking, and I fluttered my eyes shut, surrendering to the Grim Reaper.

Suddenly, I tasted something sticky and wet in my mouth, and my eyes flew open. Damon had his arm to my mouth, and the liquid I was tasting was blood. I moved my face around, trying to get away, but I slowly stood still. Then, Damon bit into the raw teethmarks on my neck, and I cringed.

Damon reached up to grab my neck, and then snapped it.


	21. Turned

Bottom of Form 1

My eyes flew open, and I had a pounding headache. And I was really hungry. Really, _really _hungry. I sat up and rubbed my eyes. What happened? Where was I? Why did I feel so...different? My throat burned, and I had no memory of anything.

"Damn, I gotta stop drinking," I murmured, looking around, and suddenly, the memories came rushing back to me like a slap in the face. Dark road. Trap. Vampires. Orion. Damon. Blood. My neck. Pain. What now?

"Oh, well, good morning." I looked up and saw Damon walk into the room, and sit on the chair next to the couch I was laying on. And he was carrying a glass filled with what was either wine or blood. I think you can guess.

"Umm...morning. What happened?"

"You don't remember?"

"No...I do. I just don't know what happened after you...killed me. And what the hell, by the way?" Damon laughed.

"I had to. You were losing too much blood, and the only way of saving you was by turning you into a vampire."

"Oh My God! You wanted to save me! That means _you like me!_" I yelled, and smirked.

"Did you not just hear me say that you're in the transition of becoming a vampire?"

"Yeah, yeah, whatever, we'll probably be talking about that a lot later. The point is, YOU like me! HAA! I totalllyy KNEW IT!" I yelled, and smirked. "I guess it was just a Psychic's instinct."

"Speaking of psychics," Damon and I turned, just as Stefan walked in the room. "I can't believe you turned her, Damon. This is very bad. Very, VERY bad."

"Come on, what's the big deal?" I asked, shrugging.

"The _big deal _is that when a psychic is turned into a vampire, they're not like_ normal _vampires. The blood from one human being isn't enough. They have to drain the blood of twenty human beings just to get by a day. Blood is all they can think about, it's like a drug to them, more than to a regular vampire. It becomes their priority, and they go on feeding frenzies, killing any and everyone. The last time a psychic vampire was created, it nearly wiped out the human race. Every vampire killer will be on your tail-forever."

Fuck.


	22. Blood Crazed

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Bottom of Form 1

I blinked in surprise. Was that who I was going to become? A bloodthirsty, psychotic _monster_?

"So...that's it?" I asked, my voice barely raising above a whisper. "I become..._that _or I die?" Stefan and Damon were both silent.

A whole bunch of thoughts were running through my head at that moment: "Why did Damon have to turn me?", "So this is it? My final choice? My big BLOWOUT?", and "What about Isabel? And my mom? What will Stefan tell them?"

I couldn't stay there. Not with them staring at me with their pitiful, sad eyes and their "I'm Sorry" speeches, expecting me to break down in tears. No. It just wasn't gonna happen.

"I-I have to go..." I murmured, and got up and ran out the door. I ignored them as I ran down the road that I usually drove on with my mom's car. My mom's car...what the thell happned to that piece of junk?

I opened the front door to my house, and numbly walked inside, rubbing my eyes. They hurt from the sun. Coincidence? Ha.

"Ashley? Ashley, is that you?" I made my way to the kitchen, where the voice was coming from, and saw my mom at the stove, making Mac and Cheese.

"Mom?"

"Oh, hi, honey. Did you have fun at Elena's?"

"Elena's? What?" I murmured, frowning, and my mother laughed.

"Are you really _that _sleep deprived? What time did you two go to bed?" A sleepover. That must have been what Elena told my mom. I get it now.

"Umm...pretty early, actually. It was all kind of a blur." It wasn't a lie.

"Oh, well, I hope you had a good time."

"Umm...yeah. Where's Isabel?"

"In her room."

"Thanks," I said, and slowly climbed the stairs to my little sister's room. But she wasn't in there. "Isabel?" I called.

"Ashley? Come in here, quick!" her voice was coming from the bathroom, and she sounded scared. I took a few steps forward, wanting desperately to get to her, and suddenly I was standing there. I looked behind me. Super speed? Cool...

"Izz? What's wrong?" I asked, and she looked up at me. There was a razor on the counter, and she was wearing nothing but a bra and underwear, clutching her right leg, and it was gushing blood.

"Mom wouldn't let me shave, so I tried by myself..."

The rest of her words were drowned out as I stared at the blood gushing from her leg. It went down her leg in streams, red droplets going splat on the white tile floor.

"Ashley? Ashley, are you okay?" Isabel asked, but I could barely hear her over the thumping in my head. My throat burned, and I could almost taste the blood on my tongue.

"Ashley? What-? What are you doing?" Isable shrieked, as I held her down, and pressed my lips to the gash in her leg.


	23. Control

Top of Form 1

Bottom of Form 1

I clamped my hand down over Isabel's mouth as I let her warm, delicious blood trickle down my throat. She kicked and squirmed, but she was no match for me.

It was when Isabel went limp when I got worried. _I have to stop. Isabel will die if I don't. I have to...STOP. _I wanted to stop, but I felt like Isabel's blood was more important to me than her own life.

"MOM!" Isabel screamed, sobbing. "MOMMY, HELP!"

"Isabel? Isabel, honey, what's wrong?" I heard my mom cry as she flew up the stairs. I got to my feet, and sped out the window.

_I have to stop...stop? No. I can't. I NEED this. I need her. _My thoughts overwhelmed me, my thirst and my need, they all convinced me that I couldn't stop.

_"What the hell is wrong with my sister?"_ I froze as I heard Isabel's voice inside my head. _"Why is she doing this? I'm dying..."_ I could feel the tears on her face. _"I'm dying...but I don't wanna die. I'm only 12 years old...I don't wanna..."_

_"How do you want to die?" my 7-year-old little sister asked me. I turned my attention away from the TV, my hand wavering over the bowl of popcorn. "What?" "How do you want to die?" Isabel repeated, staring up at me with big, wonderous eyes.I wanted to tell her the truth, but even I knew that there were some things that a 7-year-old girl didn't need to hear-and I was only 12. But I told her the truth, anyway. "I want to die young. Young and beautiful in my coffin." Isabel's eyes widened. "You don't really mean that!" I shrugged. "Well, sure I do. Why? How do you want to die?" "I want to die an old lady, and have lived a full and happy life with a husband and kids and THEIR kids, and I wanna die warm in my bed."I thought about this. "Hmmph," was all I said before I turned my attention back to the TV._

"I want to die an old lady, and have lived a full and happy life with a husband, and kids and THEIR kids, and I wanna die warm in my bed." Isabel's voice rang in my ears. That was still what she wanted. It's all she EVER wanted.

She's my sister.

And I CAN'T-I WON'T be the one to take that away from her.

I ripped myself away from her, stumbling backwards, a pool of blood dripping down my chin, and onto the front of my shirt.

"MOM!" Isabel screamed, sobbing. "MOMMY, HELP!"

"Isabel? Isabel, honey, what's wrong?" I heard my mom cry as she flew up the stairs. I got to my feet, and sped out the window.


	24. Running Away

Top of Form 1

Bottom of Form 1

After I bit Isabel, Igrabbed my mom's keys off the counter and took off in her truck. I didn't know whereI was going, and I didn't care. I just had to get out of Mystic Falls. Away from the peopleI cared about.

I was driving down a dark road in silence, peering through the dark. When suddenly, I realized that I didn't need to peer. I could see just fine in the dark. Was I a vampire already.

I tightened my grip on the steering wheel. How long would it be until I got hungry again? Until the psychotic monster of me was unleashed?

But the funny thing was...I didn't feel like a monster. I felt like myself. Something I didn't expect. I expected to feel like a demon, like Damon somewhat.

I felt my phone vibrate in my pocket, and I struggled to pull it out while keeping my eyes on the road at the same time. 7 new text messages. 4 from my mom, 2 from Elena, and 1 from Bonnie.

My mom was just being frantic about Isabel, asking me where I was and telling me to meet her at the hospital. Elena was just being Elena, a worrywart as usual, asking me where I was. She also called me like, 19 times. I know she was worried about me controlling my thirst and all, but DAMN, girl! Bonnie just texted me to let me know that Elena was looking for me.

Irritated, I threw my phone to the seat beside me. Why couldn't anyone just leave me alone?

Suddenly I felt a strain on the skin near my eyes, and a sharp pain in my eyes. Knowing what was happening, I slammed on the brakes, and peered in the rearview mirror only to see fangs and popping veins around my eyes. I leaned back in my seat and sighed. Great.

A horn made me jump to my senses, and I started the truck again, only to drive it straight into a ditch. A huge, pick-up truck roared along the road, and I leaned my head against the steering wheel. Why me?


	25. Loophole

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Bottom of Form 1

_**I don't know why it's doing that "Top of Form 1, Bottom of Form 1" thing, but I don't know how to take it off, so just try to ignore it, okay? It doesn't mean anything. And also, I know that the chapters are kinda short and I'm sorry for that, but I update at least 5 chapters a day, so I hope that makes up for it.**_

_**Love, Rachel**_Top of Form 1

Bottom of Form 1

I had been laying across the front seat for a while, just concentrating on breathing, when suddenly my throat burned with thirst. I remembered all of Isabel's warm blood spilling down her leg and dripping into neat pools, and I ached with just the thought of it.

I wanted it. I NEEDED it.

_Here it comes, _I thought. _This is it. The monster in me-it's about to be unleashed._

There was a knock on the window and I looked up. There was a man peering in at me, looking concerned. "Hey! Are you OK?"

I just stared at the man. There was something strange about him, but I couldn't put my finger on it...

"Can you hear me?" he yelled, tapping on the window again. Numbly, I nodded. "Open the door!"

Suddenly, the thirst hit me like a wave. Not mine, but his. His thirst, his need for blood was far more powerful than mine, and I could tell he was desperate to get it.

_Wait a second...thirst for blood...this guy isn't...? He's not a vampire, is he? No way! If he is, I don't know what in the hell I'm gonna do! He's probably WAAAYYY stronger than me, and..._

My thoughts trailed off. And suddenly, I could sense his blood flowing through him. It was unlike anything I had ever seen before. It was a thousand times stronger than Isabel's blood, and my need for it was a thousand times greater.

I had to get it. I would do anything to get it. I would _kill _to get it.

I reached over and opened the door. "Hey, thanks. I just saw your truck parked on the side of the road and I got worried..." the man trailed off.

"What a load of bullshit," I said, and at first he stared, but then he just smirked.

"I guess we'll cut to the chase, huh?"

"I guess," I said, smirking, and just as he was about to reach out, I grabbed a lock of his hair, and lodged my fangs into his neck. Drinking, drinking.

I leaned back and smiled. I had barely consumed any blood, and yet, I felt like I could run a marathon. I could go months without blood.

I'd found my loophole.


	26. Coming Back Home

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Bottom of Form 1

I tossed the vampire's body in the seat next to me, and made a U-turn, racing back to Mystic Falls at top speed with a huge smile on my face.

I couldn't wait to tell Elena. And Bonnie, and Stefan. And Damon. _Especially _Damon.

My mind wandered back to Isabel. What would I do about her? _Oh, simple. I'll just compel (sp?) her. Then _everything _will be make to normal...almost._

I turned the truck into my mom's empty driveway (they must still be at the hospital) and cut the engine.

_What do I do now?_

Just as the thought squeezed out of my brain, someone smashed their fist against the window, making me jump. It was Elena.

I grinned and rolled down the window. "Sup, Gilbert?"

"Ashley! What-how-_what's going on?_" Elena cried, and I laughed.

"You see this guy?"I gestured towards the vampire in the seat beside me. "He's a vampire. And I can suck his blood-I found my loophole! Cool, huh?"

"You-I _have _to call Stefan! Come on inside with me!"

"Okay, but what about this guy?" I jabbed my thumb towards the dead vampire.

"Throw him in the back-we're going to the Salvatore's."

***

"So, you...you can drink vampire blood and survive?" Stefan said, frowning. "Interesting..."

"That's so wrong," Damon piped up. "It's cannibalism."

"Not for me, it isn't," I said, glaring at him. "I'm a psychic, so I can do it. But I don't think regular vampires can. Now _that's _cannibalism."

***

It was later that day, and Stefan had the dead vampire chained up in the basement for me. I was sitting in their living room, pouring myself shots.

"Lookie, lookie who I found." I turned around and saw Damon walking towards me. He sat down beside me and poured himself a glass.

"Hey..." I said, frowning.

"What's up with you?"

"This is my 23rd shot. I counted. How come I'm not drunk yet?" Damon laughed.

"That's what happens when you first turn."

"Damn. I was really looking forward to drowning out my problems." Damon scoffed.

"What problems?"

"Like how Elena and Bonnie and Stefan think I'm a freak, and how I have to compel (sp?) my family all the time, so they won't know that anything is going on. Stuff like that."

"Yeah, well, you know, at least I don't have Stefan's problem anymore. Always worrying about snapping you in half everytime I wanna touch you," Damon said, smirking.

"Yeah, well, I guess that's my problem now," I said, smirking.

The next thing I knew, I was making out with Damon, and then we were in his bedroom. AndI think you know what happens next.


	27. Brainwashing Isabel

The next morning, I bounced down the stairs in my shirt and underwear to go get another bottle of liquor when I saw Stefan in the kitchen.

"Hi, Stefan!" I called, picking up the bottle and heading back upstairs.

"Whoa, Ashley, what are you doing here?" he asked, shocked. I smirked at him.

"I think you can put two and two together," I said, and ran up the stairs, but not fast enough that I didn't hear Stefan groan.

"Ashley, I really don't think you should be having any kind of relationship with Damon," Elena moaned from the passenger seat of my mom's truck as I drove to the hospital.

"Come on, Gilbert, I'm a vampire now. I don't need you to look out for me anymore-I never did, actually. I'm a big girl, I can take care of myself," I said and pulled into the hospital parking lot.

"Elena's right," Bonnie piped up from the backseat. "Damon's bad news, Ashley. He's a monster."

"Yeah, well, so am I." I got out of the truck and walked into the hospital, Elena and Bonnie following me, sullenly.

"Isabel Carter's room, please?" I asked the receptionist.

"I'm sorry, but Isabel isn't allowing any visitors at this time."

"I don't think you heard me. I want Isabel Carter's room number, please," I said, but this time I worked my funky compelling mojo on her.

"Yes. Here you go," she said, and told me where to go. I smiled.

"Thank you." God, being a vampire is SO cool!

"Come on, you guys!" I called over my shoulder and the three of us went up to Isabel's floor in an elevator. Then I led them to her room. My mom was in there.

"Hi, Mom," I called, and she turned around.

"Ashley! Just where the hell have you been?"

"I got caught up in something important. Sorry about that. Can I come in?"

"Oh, well, sure, honey. I'm so happy that you're here. Isabel really needs your support right now. She's lucky to be alive." I smiled, tightly.

"Right. Hey, can I have a minute alone with her?" I asked, and my mom frowned at my sleeping little sister.

"I don't know...she's dillusinual (sp?). She keeps saying that you _bit her _and that's how it happened."

"Don't worry, Mom. I'll take care of it," I said and she went to wait in the hall with Elena and Bonnie. I shook Isabel awake.

"Wha-? Mom, is that you?" she murmured, sitting up and rubbing her eyes. When she saw me, she went pale. "Ashley."

"That's my name, don't wear it out," I said, smirking, but she just stared.

"What _are _you?"

"Your big sister. Don't you know that, or did you hit your head and fuck up that pea-sized thing called your brain?"

"You-you _bit _me!" Isabel shrieked. "You tried to kill me!" I covered her mouth with my hand and compelled her:

"I did not bite you. You don't remember anything about that night except that you cut yourself shaving and things got out of control. I was at The Grill that night. Now repeat that back to me," I said, and removed my hand from her mouth.

"You did not bite me. I don't remember anything about that night except that I cut myself shaving and things got out of control. You were at The Grill that night." I smirked and leaned back.

"Good."

It was later that day, and I was at the Salvatore's for a little overnight visit (again) and Damon was still sleeping. I was poring over the information we had gathered on Orion and my mind was racing.

I felt obsessed. It was like I _had _to kill them. All of them. And it had to be _me. _Not Damon. Not Stefan or Bonnie. Me. Just me.


	28. Not As Powerful As I Thought

"Ashley! Ashley! Ashley, wake up, honey!" I stirred and moaned as my mother shook me awake. "Ashley, wake _up, _it's urgent!"

"What _is _it?" I moaned, rubbing my eyes and glancing at the clock: 3:29am. Come on, Mom!

I was living at home again, after compelling both Isabel and my mom. Isabel finally got to come home from the hospital, too.

"It's Elena." I shot up in my bed and stared at her.

"Elena? What about her? Is she okay?"

"No, honey, she's not. She's downstairs, waiting for you, and she's hysterical." _DAMMIT, MOM! You almost gave me a friggin' heart attack! _I thought, angrily as I threw on a white t-shirt and a pair of jeans. _I thought Elena was really hurt!_

I ran down the stairs to find Elena sobbing on my couch, my mother in the kitchen, making her hot chocolate. Or something...

"Elena! What's the matter with you?"I asked, sitting down next to her.

"It's...it's Bonnie! Orion...he...she's hurt!" Elena gasped between sobs, and I balled my hands into fists.

"What about Orion?"

"Bonnie was trying to do a locater spell for Stefan and Damon, but it backfired...so they sent her home. And on the way there, Orion, he-he _attacked her! _Oh My God, Ashley, she's really hurt. She might not make it..."

"She'll make it, Gilbert. Don't worry...she will. I'll make sure of it." And then I was gone. I sped out of the house in a fury.

_God DAMMIT! How _dare _Orion touch Bonnie! That's it, I'm ending this once and for all. _I stomped up to the Salvatore boarding house and burst through the door.

"Well, good morning, sunshine," Damon said, frowning and rubbing the sleep out of his eyes.

"Wha-? Damon, why the hell are you sleeping? Didn't Elena tell you?"

"Didn't Elena tell him what?" Stefan asked, appearing behind me. I spun around so that I could face the both of them.

"She came to my house, saying that Orion attacked Bonnie on her way home. I can't believe she didn't tell you..."

"Is she okay?" Stefan asked, and I shrugged.

"I don't know. Stefan, you should go check on her. And bring Elena. She's a wreck." Stefan nodded, and disappeared. Damon only smirked.

"Since when are you the one giving orders?"

"Shut up. I need you to help me. When Bonnie did that locater spell on Orion...where did it point to?"

Damon's smirk only grew wider. "Oh, I get it. Look at the newbie, thinking she's all powerful. Well, newsflash, Ashley. You're not as strong as you think. You can't take down Orion by yourself." I glared at him.

"I can try. Now, are you going to help me or not?" Damon sighed.

"I guess I have to.I can't let you go out there all by yourself, now can I?"

"No, you can't. Leaving a damsel in distress? That's not exactly your style. Now, where are the maps?"

"Ooh, pushy."

"Damon! I mean it! I'm not messing around! Now-" I slammed him up against the wall. "_tell me where the shit is. NOW!_"

"Ughh...fine!" Damon broke free of my grip, then mumbled under his breath, "It's not fair that the newbie gets to be stronger than me, just because she's a psychic." It was my turn to be the one smirking as Damon went to go get the map.

"Okay, now when Bonnie was here, the crystal pointed to...here," Damon said, pointing to a specific city, not too far away from Mystic Falls.

"Well, that's great. We'll just head there and-"

"Ashley, Ashley, hold on. We can't just head on down to a certain town. They could be anywhere there."

"Yeah. I know. Which is why I'm gonna turn that whole fucking town upside down until I can find them." Damon smirked.

"And that is _exactly _why I like you."

"I know."

Damon and I arrived there in 2 hours. I sprang out of the car and slammed the door behind me. "Whoa, slow down, tiger."

"Shut up! We don't have time to fool around."

"What are you talking about? We have plenty of time!" Damon argued, following me as I stomped around town.

"No, we don't! Orion could be moving right now!"

"No, he won't be. He attacked Bonnie, knowing that we would come after him," Damon said, and I spun around to face him.

"_WHAT? _Why didn't you _tell _me?" I shrieked, and Damon shrugged.

"I figured you knew that we were walking into a trap."

"How would I know that? And if I _did _know it was a trap, why would I still come down here?" Damon just smirked down at me.

"Because. You think you're hot stuff. You think that just because you're a psychic _and _a vampire, you can handle six vampires and a vampire slayer on your own. But you can't."

"If this is such a suicide mission, then why did you come?"

"Cuz...like you said, leaving a damsel in distress isn't my style. And besides, this Orion thing has to end. Now." I frowned, studying him.

"Okay...fine. Now help me find him."

"I, uh...don't think that will be necessary," Damon said, nervously, and I looked around and saw that we were surrounded by six of Orion's vampires.

"Oh crap," I murmured.

"_Boy, _have you two been troublesome," one of them said, smirking. "I'm really gonna enjoy ripping you two assholes to pieces."

"Just bring it on," I said, glaring. And they brough it. The first two vampires charged at me, and I roundhouse kicked them back 10 feet. The two other ones charged at Damon, and he tackled them both.

The last four of them ran at me. I punched the first two, and sent another one flying with my mind (psychic powers), and kicked the other one. They came back again and again, and Damon was having trouble with the other two. I elbowed and kneed, kicked and punched, until I was so worn down that I could barely move. And the other four barely looked phase.

"Maybe Damon was right..." I murmured. "Maybe I'm _not _as powerful as I thought..."

"Damn straight," one of the vampires said, appearing in front of me. Then, he pulled out a stake and drove it through my skin, piercing my heart.


	29. Drink From Me

I drowsily opened my eyes and saw that I was in a dark room. What the hell? I thought I was...

I got staked. That's right. _Am I dead? _I thought, frowning, but I started to recognize the room. Dark...candles...smells good...

I pressed my hand to my pounding forehead. Shit...

This was the room that Damon had taken me to when he was trying to figure out if I was really a psychic or not.

But I was staked. How am I still alive?

A crack of light shone into the room as someone opened the door. It was Damon.

"Damon, please tell me what the fuck is going on," I said, groaning. "I'm supposed to be dead."

"How do you know you're not?" he asked, smirking, but I just rolled my eyes.

"Cut the crap. How am I still alive?" But his question bugged me. Was I really...dead?

Just the thought scared the crap outta me.

"To tell you the truth, I don't know," Damon said, sighing, and taking a seat next to me on the bed. "Stefan asked Alaric and he started rambling about psychic vampires being different from regular vampires. They're harder to kill."

I blinked in surprise. "So how _does _someone kill me?" Damon shrugged.

"Don't ask me. But even though the stake to the heart didn't kill you, you could still die."

"What?"I cried, sitting upright, but suddenly I felt woozy and collapsed back down onto the cot. "How is that possible?"

"You need blood. Lots of it. Like, now."

"Okay...so get me some blood."

"A little problem with that," Stefan said, appearing in the doorway. "I can get you some blood from the hospital's supply, but it would risk you going on a killing spree, being a psychic vampire and all. Or...you can drink from one of us." Damon grumbled something under his breath, and I looked back and forth between the bot of them.

"Can't you find any other vampires?" I asked, in a panicky voice.

Stefan shook his head. "Not in such short notice. You need the blood tonight, or...you'll die."

***

It was later that night, and I was staring up at the ceiling. I just couldn't believe it. Why do _I _have to make all the hard decisions?

I could either drink human blood and go on a fucking rampage for more blood, killing everyone that I love, and prompting Damon and Stefan to kill me. So...result of Option 1: death.

I could drink from one of the Salvatore brothers, but Damon had stressed a lot that it could kill them, and if I killed one of them...what the hell would I do then? Result of Option 2: guilt-ridden for eternity. Goodie.

Or, I could die. Option 3: I die.

That just sounds fucking wonderful, doesn't it? I groaned, and closed my eyes, exhausted from all this thinking. Maybe I would just think more in the morning...

My eyes flew open. There wouldn't _be _a morning! Stefan said I needed the blood _tonight! _Fuck, fuck, _fuck!_

At that moment, Damon walked in the room and I stared at him. "What are you doing here?"

He ignored me. "Have you decided yet?" I sighed.

"No. How the fuck can I? All of the outcomes are shitty."

"Ashley, just drink from me." I stared.

"What?"

"Just do it. I'm a big boy, I'll be fine." Was Damon...worried about me? I smirked, and Damon rolled his eyes.

"Shut up, and just do it." I leaned forward-ignoring my pounding headache-and bit my fangs into Damon's neck, his blood flowing throughout me.


	30. In Love with Damon

"Oh wow," Damon said, leaning up in bed and searching through the covers for his shirt. "That was really...wow."

"Well, I'm just happy to be alive," I said, smugly and reached up to stretch. I glanced over at him. "I hope I didn't hurt you too badly." Damon just rolled his eyes at me and shoved his pants on.

"I must be fucking unstoppable," Damon bragged. "I let you drink half of the blood from my body and then I was still up for..._that_."

"Well, of _course _you were still up for _that._ _That _is fucking wonderful. Especially from me," I said, smirking while I put on my bra and panties. "But still. How are you still moving?"

"Stop bragging," he said, rolling his eyes. "It was fucking good, but it wasn't _that _fucking good."

"No, no, I meant...I mean, Alaric said that if I drank that much from you...that you wouldn't be able to move for a couple of days at least, until you got some more blood in your system. So how...?"

"I don't know. I'm just that awesome," Damon said, flexing his muscles. I rolled my eyes and laid back on the pillow before he left the room. Even though Damon brushed it off as nothing, what Alaric said still bugged me. Could Damon be _that_ strong?

Instead, I pushed the thought into the back of my head. I was just happy to be alive and in love. The last thought stopped me. _What the fuck? Where did that come from?_

But was it true? Was I...in love with Damon?

"Oh crap! Damon!" Stefan yelled from downstairs and I was down there (in just my bra and underwear, I might add) in a flash. Literally.

"What? What's wrong?" I cried, frantically.

"It's Damon. He collapsed," Stefan said, and then looked at my outfit. "What the hell? Did you-?" he rolled his eyes. "Go get some clothes on."

"Oh. Right," I said and flew upstairs, threw on some clothes, and was back downstairs in about 15 seconds.

"Was it from all the blood I drank from him?" I asked and Stefan nodded.

"Probably. Here, help me get him upstairs so then I can go get him some human blood from the hospital."

"No, no, I'll get the blood, you take care of Damon," I said and then sprinted to the hospital. I tiptoed around the hallways, not wanting to draw any attention to myself. I looked around, frantically. _Shit, where the hell do they keep all the blood?_ Then I spotted a young receptionist and ran up to her.

"Hey. Lady. I need you to tell me where all the blood is," I said, pounding on the counter.

"All the what? What the fuck?" she asked, cluelessly, looking up and as soon as we locked up, she was mine.

"Where's all the blood? I need you to tell me now. And after this, you will have no idea what happened to it. Alright?" I said, doing my funky hypnosis mojo on her, and she nodded.

"The blood is in the room down the hall. There," the girl said, pointing and I sprinted in that direction. I sifted through all the blood when a bag fell onto the ground and opened all over the floor with a loud "pop"!

"Fuck," I murmured and leaned down to clean it up, when the smell hit me like a punch in the gut. I clenched my fists together and closed my eyes, trying to take breaths, but everytime I did, I kept inhaling the sweet, sweet smell of the blood.

All that blood..

"Hey! You!" My eyes snapped open and I looked over in the direction of the voice. I saw a man in a doctor's uniform running over here, and he looked mad. That pretty much got me out of my trance.

I grabbed as many bags as I could carry and ran to the nearest window. Probably not the smartest idea since the doctor guy is gonna be fucking talking about the chick who stole all the blood and jumped out the window and lived, and Stefan is gonna beat my ass..

But this was _Damon._ The question hit me again. Was I in love with him? And once again, I pushed it away. I had more important things to worry about: like delivering all this blood to Damon.

"Damn, thanks Ashley," Damon said, lying in the bed that I had been in this morning, gulping down all the blood. I had to stand by the door-I didn't want the smell to overwhelm me again.

"You're welcome. It was the least I could do," I said, and then this came out of fucking nowhere: "I love you."

_Shit! Shit, shit, shit! Why did I just say that? _I screamed inside my head, but I made sure that on the outside I was all cool and calm. I tried to read Damon's mind, but I was too woozy from all the blood. Instead, I just waited for his answer. Which was:

"You what?"

...Crap. :/


	31. Katherine's Back

"You...love me? Shit, Ashley," Damon said, frowning and I felt my heart drop 20 floors and plummet into the ground.

"What? No. I...I don't know why I said that. I guess it was just a heat of the moment thing," I said, praying that I wasn't blushing. But of course I was.

"No, it wasn't. Fuck, Ashley. You really...love me."

"Okay, fine. But I'm a big girl and I'll get over it. Seriously, don't worry about me. I'll be fine," I lied and Damon frowned at me, like he was debating on whether or not he should believe me.

"Uhh...fine. Whatever. Hey, let's get downstairs to go see what's going on with Orion. Stefan and Bonnie think they have a lead."

We walked downstairs and I was mentally slapping myself-no, mentally beatingin my headwith a hammer-for being so stupid as to tell Damon how I really felt about him. I had _never_ been a big fan of feelings, and there was a reason for that. Because it always blew up in my face.

Like today.

I tried again to tap into Damon's mind, but my legs nearly gave way on my way down the stairs and I had to grab the side just to keep myself upright.

"Hey. You okay?" Damon asked, glancing back at me.

"Uhh...yeah. Just still a little dizzy from everything that's happened. But I'll be fine."

"Okay." We got downstairs and Stefan, Elena, Bonnie, and Jeremy were all downstairs, looking really concerned.

"What's wrong?" Damon asked.

"Yeah, guys. What's the deal?" I asked, collapsing down on the couch and trying not to look as weak as I felt.

"Orion has a few tricks up his sleeve," Bonnie said, gravely.

"Oh please. Whatever he throws at us, we can handle it!" Damon cried and I nodded.

"Yeah. Just tell us."

Stefan looked up at us with a frown. "Katherine's back."


	32. Choosing Katherine

Okay, so where was I? Right,Damon and Iwere having Stefan tell us that Katherine was back:

"Katherine? What's that bitch doing here?" Damon asked, frowning. 

"Orion has a few more tricks up his sleeve than we thought," Elena said, sadly. 

"'Orion has a few more tricks up his sleeve than we thought'? What the fuck does that mean?" I scoffed. 

"Stop it, Ashley! Katherine's _dangerous!_" Bonnie cried, and I rolled my eyes. 

"Oh please. I'm not scared of that whore. She can kiss my ass right before I kick hers." 

"Yeah. Me and Ashley can handle Katherine, right, Ashley?" Damon asked, and then winked at me and I smirked before nodding. 

"Hell yeah, we can!"

***

"So where did Stefan say he saw Katherine?" Damon asked as he backed out of the driveway in my mom's crappy car. 

"The Grill,"I said. "But I doubt she's still there." 

She was. 

It was almost like she was _waiting _for us to show up there. Oh wait-SHE WAS! 

"God, Damon, it's about _time_ you got here!" Katherine moaned, strutting up to him like a hooker. "I've been waiting around _forever. _God, you used to _want_to see me!" 

"That was a long time ago," Damon said, glaring daggers into her and Katherine pointed at me. 

"Who's this bitch? Your girlfriend? Is _she_ why you're not into me anymore, Damon?" 

I opened my mouth to say something, but my psychic abilities snapped right back into me like a rubber band. 

And I had abilities that I never knew I had before. Maybe almost dying does that to a psychic vampire. Ha ha. 

But seriously, I not only could read minds,I could _tap into other people's feelings. _That's right. I was like a fucking Human Lie Detector. 

And you will never guess what I found inside the black hole that is Katherine's heart: she's still lusting after Stefan. The speck of love that she felt for Damon had been booted out a long time ago. 

So even though she's staring at Damon all doe-eyed and flirty with her hand on his arm, she would _so_ much rather run back to the boarding house and have Stefan whisk her away. Which was _so_ unfair. Damon was still in love with her-gross, I know. I could actually _feel_ that he was, I didn't have to guess. Although I probably could have. It wasn't hard to figure it out-and she thought he was a shoe, that she could try on for a while and then toss it away if it didn't fit.  
>I don't mean to channel Caroline, but I would be <em>so<em> much more better for Damon that Katherine ever was. I wouldn't use him like she is. 

That's why, when I felt Damon's love for _me_ rising up inside of him, I asked: 

"Damon, I know you're in love with both of us. And we both say we love you, so just fucking _choose _already. Me or Katherine. Choose. Right now." 

"Katherine..." he murmured after a long moment of silence. 

And you know what? His answer didn't surprise me at all.


	33. Running Away For Good

*Damon's POV*

"Ashley's _gone?_ What do you mean she's _gone?_" Stefan cried, and I glared at him.

"I mean that she's _gone. _As in she left and I don't know where she went."

"But why?" Elena asked.

"Katherine. She scared her off," I lied, and Caroline scoffed.

"Are you kidding me? Ashley's not scared of _anything._ Not even Katherine could scare her."

"Well, she did, alright?" I snapped, and Caroline drew back in surprise.

"What happened? Did Katherine threaten her family?" Jeremy guessed and I nodded.

"Yeah. Something likethat. And then she just...left."

Wow, what a pile of bullshit. What had _really_ happened was I picked Katherine over Ashley, and then Aahley rolled her eyes and murmured a 'Whatever' before high-tailing it out of there.

And then what happened after that is just embarrassing. Katherine smirked and then laughed in my face. She told me that I shouldn't have picked her and that she had always loved Stefan. It was always Stefan,

"Well, we have to go find her!" Elena cried, jumping up from her chair and Stefan nodded.

"No," Bonnie said, shaking her head. "I know Ashley and you won't find her unless she _wants_ to be found. And I don't think she really wants to be found."

"So what are we supposed to do? Just sit here?" Caroline yelled, and there was an awkward silence. No one knew what to do.

And then it hit me. Ashley was gone. Because of me.


	34. Paris

*Ashley's POV*

Love...anger...jealousy...happiness. I passed by various emotions on my way to Paris. Yes, Paris. I had always wanted to go there as a kid. And I figured, I'm a fucking vampire and I have nothing tying me to Mystic Falls anymore, so why not?

The anger, hatred, jealousy, etc. I could deal with those. I could _relate_ to those. Feed off them, and contribute my own feelings of anger. Swapping and sharing, like trading cards.

Yeah, I can do that now. I'm gettingreally strong; I've come a long way asa pyschic since I first started. God knows what else I can do.

Anyway, the angry feelings I could deal with. It was the happy, joyful, dopey in-love people that pissed me off. Their happiness was annoying.I felt like I had a giant rain cloud floating overtop me-for some reason I thought that if _I_ was miserable, everyone else should be too.

Right now I'm living in a small apartment, watching some lame vampire movie. Twiliight or something?

Which was totally unrealistic. That Edward guy was such a phony. 'Oh, Bella. I'll love you forever.' Bullshit. All vampires were douches and bitches-even _I_ was a bitch. I'll admit it.

But moving to a whole new place was hard. Mostly because now I have to seek out the other vampires. Some to interact with, and some to feed on.

My cell phone rang. _Oh, God, it had better not be Elena again,_ I thought. It was. I rolled my eyes and threw my cell back onto the couch beside me.

Elena, Stefan, Bonnie, Jeremy, Caroline...Damon. I didn't need any of them. Fuck 'em! I'd do just fine on my own. I _didn't_ miss them.


	35. The End

*ONE MONTH LATER*

"Ashley, hurry up with the blood!" Anna yelled at me from the couch. "I'm fucking _starving_ over here!"

"Yeah!" Nadia agreed, her head bobbing up and down in agreement. "I thought you said you had some."

"I do-vampire blood. For _me,_" I argued, as I came back into the living room of my apartment with a big popcorn bowl filled with red, sticky human blood. "I had to run and steal summa this from the hospital."

"_Finally!_" Sara moaned and she and Cherie shoved their hands into the bowl, dripping blood all over the couch.

"Aww, come on, you guys!" I moaned. "I just had that cleaned _yesterday!_"

"Don't be such a sourpuss, Ash," Cherie said as she turned on the movie.

"Really. Loosen up!" Nadia agreed as we settled down to watch it.

These were the vampire friends that I had made since I got here, and I loved every one of them like a sister.

They made it easier to accept it: this is my new life. And because of them, I wasn't totally bummed about it.

Just as we were getting into the movie, there came a knock on the front door, andI twisted my head around to look at it.

"Who could that be?"

"Leave it," Anna advised, not moving her eyes from the TV screen. I ignored her and got up to go answer the door.

"Nobody listens to me!" Anna moaned, and Sara snickered.

"And they shouldn't!"

"Shut up, fucker!"

I grinned and did my best to ignore my friends as I opened the door.

My tongue dried up in my mouth, my stomach was in knots, and my feet turned to lead.

"D-Damon? What the fuck are you doing here?"

"I've been looking for you everywhere," he admitted.

"Why? Where's Katherine?"

"Back in the tomb," he replied and I blinked in surprise.

"When did that happen?"

"You were right about her, Ash. She hasn't changed at all and I'm really sorry." I glared at him. Damn! Just as I was getting over this mother fucker!

"About what?"

"You know what," he argued. "I still love you and..."

"Why should I believe you?" I cut him off.

"Tap into my emotions. Read my mind. _Then_ you'll sure as hell know that I'm not lying." I frowned, but then tapped into his emotions without even trying.

Holy fuck. He wasn't lying. He _did_ love me.


	36. Epilogue

_**So this is it...the end of Victim of Love. Thanks so much for everyone who Favorited and Reviewed, it means a lot. And for all of you who Favorited and didn't review...grr.**_

_**Love, Rachel**_

So you'reprobably wondering what happens in the end, huh? And Iwould _love_to tell you, but no one really knows what happens in the end. You just have to wait it out, until God puts down the pen and shuts your storybook-and you die.

But I'm a vampire so it's gonna be a _long_ time before I die, if I ever do. So I can't tell you the end of my story, but I _can_ tell you how it's turned out so far: a month since Damon came to my apartment in Paris to tell me he loved me.

I grabbed Katherine by the front of her shirt and threw her down to the ground, a small pool of blood slowly forming behind her head.

"You like that, bitch?" I snarled and she wriggled under my grip. "This is what happens when you mess with people's lives and steal their boyfriends, slut!"

"Fine. Kill me," she growled, angrily and I lifted up a stake.

"Glad to."

"No! No, wait!" she begged, wriggling again. I had called her bluff. "I'll do anything. Please!"

"_No!_" I screamed and drove the stake through her cold heart. She gasped and gagged on her own blood and I made sure that my smirking face was the last thing she ever saw.

"Wow. That was badass," Damon said from behind me and I smirked.


End file.
